The dissolving of style

Who would have thought that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was destined to become the huge event it is today. While mixed martial arts goes even further back than the shadow of Bruce Lee, UFC turned out to be something more than a mixture of styles. When Art Davis suggested combining different martial arts in one single competition with the distinct purpose of pitting styles against each other. Not even he was aware of the fact that it would lead to not only a blending of styles, but also a dissolving of styles. These days, we’ve become accustomed of not thinking of martial arts so much in terms of techniques but in terms of success. If you win. You are a successful martial artist. No matter style. No matter ideology. No matter philosophy.

It hasn’t exactly gone unnoticed that UFC is based in Las Vegas. And like with all things Vegas. There’s betting involved. And there’s no denying it. But does UFC betting differ from other gambling venues? Yeah, sort of. Think about it for a minute. What’s the primary advantage in gambling? Information. What’s the enemy of information? Noise! That’s signalling theory for you. The point is, in UFC you’ve generally got two nodes of information – namely the fighters. When you compare this to the amount on nodes in, let’s say, football, where you’ve got lots of minor players… you’ve got a lot less static to take into consideration.

This means that in UFC you’ve got a comparatively good chance of gaining insight into the probability of a certain outcome. The history of the fighters is often like an open book. And the health, fitness and ambition of the fighters is usually presented in plain sight. What does this mean for you? Well, you’ve got the information. Can you interpret it? This is often the deal-breaker. While access to information is one thing. Making use if the information is another.

Let’s take a look at the Jon Jones situation. There are good reasons to consider him one of the greatest fighters or all time. No question about it. But he has been out of the loop for a while. During his comeback fight, we will see him pitted against Daniel Cormier. Cormier has been amazingly active throughout the years, rarely missing a fight. In Comparison, one would be hard pressed to consider Jones history as being similarly impressive. But remember. We’re talking routine and consistency here. And fighting ability has never been a matter of being on time. So, what? Well, taking Jones comparatively less impressive physique into consideration. You’d be wise to not bet ALL your money on him. But this doesn’t mean the opposite bet is a sure thing.

Analysis is always key

An outcome is never a sure thing and there is always much going on behind the scenes. So even though the fighters themselves are key to a decent analysis. It’s not all. The amount of drama and shenanigans has been increasing steadily. And with the ever increasing popularity of UFC, some say heart and soul goes away and gets replaced with speculation. With more stuff going on behind the scenes. More noise is blocking the information. We can’t give you any final, absolute and never changing truths regarding betting and UFC results. You have to do the work for yourself. But hopefully. By considering every piece of information as a piece of a bigger puzzle, you’ll be able to make thoughtful and insightful decisions that aren’t just whims of an overly active imagination.